Can universal health care work?
Nearly 60 percent of Americans who are privately employed have some sort of employer-supported private health insurance, though that number has decreased by 5 percent since 2000. The government covers another 28 percent of Americans through Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs. The rest are on their own. Lacking access to the primary care that could keep them healthy, they may resort to expensive emergency room visits they often can’t pay for. Or they may put off seeking care until their conditions worsen, requiring more extensive treatment. That’s bad for them, but it’s also bad for everyone else because the law requires hospitals to give emergency care treatment (see “Red Alert”), and those costs are borne by hospitals and taxpayers. Not only does the cost of hospital care for the uninsured drive up the price of care for everyone, in some states, including Maryland, insurance companies must help cover the cost of hospital care for the uninsured. Those factors contribute to higher p
